Astaroth
"Squirm, you filthy maggot!" — Astaroth Astaroth (アスタロス, Asutarosu) is a golem character in the Soul series of fighting games. Astaroth made his first appearance in Soulcalibur and has returned for Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur Legends (as Astaroth alpha), Soulcalibur IV and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. A new Astaroth appears in Soulcalibur V. Throughout the Soul series Astaroth is referred to as "Black Giant" and "A Soldier Of The Heretics". What lies in his soul is Power. In Soulcalibur V's promotional material he is referred to as Harbinger of Destruction. Biography Soulcalibur Ares, the god of war and destruction, desired Soul Edge to dethrone his father, Zeus, so he ordered Kunpaetku, the grand priest of the cult order Fygul Cestemus, to seek it out. Astaroth, a golem, was created in hellish heat under the divine protection of Ares to head up the quest. Kunpaetku ordered his creation, Astaroth, to find the demonic blade. As he watched Astaroth depart from the shrine, the grand priest laughed to himself as he planned to keep the Soul Edge and become a god himself. Unknown to Kunpaetku, however, Ares had possessed Astaroth with his servants, the Keres, to ensure that Kunpaetku would not betray him. When Astaroth finally found Soul Edge, he had lost half of himself during the battle with Sophitia. Soulcalibur II Deciding that Ares would not be pleased with the sword in this condition, he agreed to help the azure knight, Nightmare, build his power by collecting souls by slaughtering countless victims. As Astaroth was finally ready to betray Nightmare and take the Soul Edge from him, Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle, and Astaroth was killed by Maxi. Four years later, signs of Soul Edge began to re-emerge, and Ares resurrected Astaroth in an attempt to retrieve the evil blade once again. This time, though, his body had been infused with shards of the Soul Edge, making him more powerful and ruthless than ever before. Astaroth had set out on the trail for the evil blade, but a problem arose. The grand priest Kunpaetku had realized his golem was not behaving as originally instructed – that another force now claimed ownership over Astaroth since his initial creation. In order to reclaim Astaroth as his servant, Kunpaetku performed a ritual on the lowest level of the cult's temple and unleashed a powerful curse on him. Astaroth fought back against the curse, for he had become an ideal host for the Keres, because of the fragments of Soul Edge he had taken in during his resurrection. He would destroy anyone who stood in his way, and now the cult had become nothing more than an obstacle in his path. Astaroth entered the temple to destroy the cult once and for all, and his whirlwind of destruction mowed down everything in his path. Soulcalibur III The curse had only fueled him with anger, and he was determined to destroy anything and everything he saw. The temple of the heretics had become a crucible of chaos. Astaroth pursued Kunpaetku into the deepest part of the temple, but the grand priest managed to escape at the last minute. Only the words the priest left behind remained, telling him that he was nothing more than a failed doll modeled after a mere human. Astaroth immediately stopped in his tracks, distracted with this new found horrible knowledge, and began to search the temple's archives for his roots. He had been made in the image of a man called only by the name "White Giant." Astaroth destroyed the facility in which Kunpaetku's ritual had been performed, and his curse faded such that he regained his true strength. He then proceeded to destroy the temple completely until it became unrecognizable debris, and nothing was left but chaos and rubble. Fygul Cestemus had been wiped from history by the very being that they themselves had created. Astaroth stood within the ruined temple, quietly thinking to himself. If the "White Giant" he had been modeled after was as powerful as himself, then that man must surely be the greatest soul on earth, the perfect nourishment to resurrect the Soul Edge back to its full power. Perhaps Astaroth himself did not realize his own hidden desire to destroy the "White Giant" – to make himself a complete creature, unique without any model. The golem set out, his new objective set, disappearing into the mirages in the distance. Behind him was only a column of smoke rising from a ruinous wasteland; in front of him somewhere was the perfect soul. Soulcalibur IV Astaroth had been unconsciously fighting the thoughts of him being created in the image of the "White Giant". Perhaps because of this, his body has been twisted to the point where he no longer looks remotely human. But then he finally found the White Giant and nearly killed him. Suddenly, he realized that he had been serving Ares all this time. This thought made him insane, and he destroyed the landscape around him. Then Tira approached him, and told him that she can bring him to a fitting place where he could hunt a god. However, Astaroth can clearly see that she is a very loyal servant of the evil sword, and she was just using him. Then again, she was right about the fact that he needed a better place to find souls. So he went to Ostrheinsburg and became Nightmare's servant once again, only this time, he plans to devour everything; those who descend upon Ostrheinsburg, and even Soul Edge itself. Soulcalibur V Sometime after the original Astaroth was killed by Maxi, Ashlotte retrieved his corpse and returned it to Kunpaetku, who rebuilt Fygul Cestemus and created several new, more advanced Astaroth-style golems. They were sent west in search of Soul Edge. In 1607, Patroklos encountered and defeated one of the new golems while travelling with his sister Pyrrha. Endings Soulcalibur Astaroth returned before the grand priest Kunpaetku with Soul Edge in hand. "Astaroth, you have done well. Now the power that surpasses the gods is mine! What...are you doing! No, unhand me! Stop! STOP!" "Need...more...souls!" Astaroth says. Engulfed in crimson hellfire, the two figures eventually fade from view. What were Astaroth's true intentions? There is no way to know... Soulcalibur II To infuse the sword with the strength his master desired, Astaroth would pay the ultimate price... He consumed countless souls, and steeped in their fear, became the sacrificial offering. No one knew the god of destruction's true desires, but there would be no respite for Astaroth. His body fused with the malevolent blade, Astaroth was feared as the grim reaper on battlefields for all eternity. Soulcalibur III Astaroth walks through the desert, dragging Soul Edge across the ground, before the screen fades to black. When it fades back in, he is seen sitting on a rock when Ares, in the form of a ball of light, appears before him. Astaroth stands up and holds Soul Edge out. "Here, I brought Soul Edge!", Ares said: "You did well, Astaroth. Now, offer Soul Edge to me!" No Input: Astaroth chuckles and holds Soul Edge over his head, bending it with all his strength. "This is what you wanted, this worthless weapon?" Soul Edge shatters into several pieces. Ares flies away without a word. "I am the ultimate. I have the power to destroy even Soul Edge!". Astaroth glows with evil energy and laughs. Astaroth swings Soul Edge around and throws it at Ares' luminous form, causing it to disappear. Soul Edge flies back into Astaroth's hands. "Do not...give orders to me! Ah ha ha ha! Run, run away!" Astaroth holds Soul Edge up high. "A lowly god...does not have the right to own me!" Soulcalibur IV Algol falls to the floor on the top of the Tower of Remembrance, with Astaroth looking down on him. Algol: Your power exceeds that of my own. I am impressed! Algol dies, the power of Soul Edge leaving his body and entering Astaroth, who chuckles. Astaroth: So this is the power of Soul Edge! No, it's not enough for me. I need more! Astaroth continues consuming power as the screen fades to black. When it fades back, it shows a giant Astaroth stomping through the forest Astaroth: Give me more, I want more! Astaroth screams, teeming with the power of Soul Edge. The screen fades to black, with a text that reads:"His evil spreads throughout the world. It is the roar that announces the beginning of the dark ages." Fighting Style Astaroth is well known in the Soul Series for performing powerful attacks and throw moves. His moves are quite slow in execution however, which leads to him having a disadvantage against faster characters such as Taki. He is most effective when used at long range since many of his attacks utilize that aspect in their properties. Astaroth is somewhat regarded in terms of tournament use between mid to high tier. He fights much like Rock and even has some of the same moves. Critical Finish Astaroth's Critical Finish in Soulcalibur IV sends his opponent crashing to the ground before he catches them on the end of his axe. He then drags them around the arena before sending them sailing into the air. Astaroth's Critical Finish is shared with Rock and Ashlotte, the only difference being their victory poses and the symbol that appears at the end. (Astaroth and Ashlotte both have the symbol of their cult appear—yellow for the former and violet for the latter). Critical Edge Astaroth grabs his opponent and slams them to the ground. He then spins them on the ground with his axe creating a fire vortex. Tower Of Lost Souls Details & Skills Astaroth appears in Tower of Lost Souls Ascend mode as a boss under the floor "Law Of The Earth" as an easy boss but he also appears in other floors such as "Unseen Sickle," "Worshiped Sacrifice," & "Envoy Of Destruction" as a more difficult opponent to defeat. A fighter named Raguel also uses Astaroth's fighting style as a boss under the floor "King Of The Physical Realm". TOLS Ascend Mode Boss: Law Of The Earth (Floor 2) Partners: Revvolk & Curtana (Law Of The Earth Floor 2) Loki & Elza (Unseen Sickle Floor Floor 48) Herman, Grima & Judas (Worshipped Sacrifice Floor 55) Tira & Nightmare (Envoy Of Destruction Floor 59) Helmwige (Story Mode Stage 2 & 3 Only) Skills On "Law Of The Earth" 1.Shave Damage C 2.Auto Counter C 3.Knock Down Skills On "Unseen Sickle" 1.Invisible S 2.Soul Gauge Boost C 3.Soul Gauge Rate Up A 4.Knock Down Skills On "Worshipped Sacrifice" 1.Nullify Ringout A 2.HP Drain S Skills On "Envoy Of Destruction" 1.Soul Gauge Damage A 2.Shave Damage A 3.Soul Gauge Boost A 4.Nullify Ringout A Default Skills 1.Guard Breaker 2.Will Power 3.Knock Down Weapons *Kulutues *War Hammer *Terror Moon *Battle Ax *Great Maul *Tabar *Nanbanfu *Bulova *Soul Edge *Soul Edge (Complete) *Thanatos *Stone Slab *The Ancient (Astaroth) *Curse of the Pharaoh *Blessed Acolyte *Monster Hunt *Heavy Ax *Rock (Weapon) *Pow Hammer *The Master (Astaroth) *Fist Punch Stages Palgaea Shrine (SC) Palgaea Shrine - Lowest Level (SC2) Kunpaetku Shrine Ruin (SC3) Kunpaetku Shrine - Dream Remnants (SC4) Grand Shrine of Palgaea - Sea of Decay (SCBD) Shrine of the Snake God Palgaea (SC5) Theme Music Soulcalibur "Bred from the Gap" Soulcalibur II "Evil Reborn" Soulcalibur III "Bred from the Gap" Soulcalibur IV "Infernal Offering" Soulcalibur V "Chainless Disaster" Quotes Soulcalibur Go to hell! Gggrrrrr. Get lost! Eyeehehehehe. Your soul's mine! Dead yet? You worm! Die! Squirm! Scream! -says in character selection screen in 1P outfit. Squirm!, scream! Soulcalibur II Exterminate! Shut up and die! Go ahead and struggle! Destroy all! Begone, you scum! I will crush you! Don't expect to die peacefully! Do you want to die that badly? Don't move... I'll bury you! It will rain blood today! Don't scream! Worms! Ready to die? I'm gonna tear you apart! Begone, you filth! Disappear forever! Go ahead and struggle, scum! I will grind you to death! I'm not going to go easy on you! What!? Pretentious little bug! You all look the same to me! Don't disappoint me! Need more souls! Your soul is mine! Know your place, scum! Worms! Dead already? Dead yet? Give up! Shred! Squirm! Scream! Kill! Squirm! Scream! Struggle! Begone! Ridiculous. Get lost! Don't make me laugh! Who's next? Amuse me again! Stop screaming, worm! Shut up and die! Dead already? No use! Squirm! Scream! Die! Begone, scum! Fools! Get out of my sight! You make me laugh! Stop screaming! My ears hurt! Is this the end? I'll take your soul. Execute! Shatter... scatter! Mash! Struggle! Begone! Kill! Take this! Rot away! Squirm! Scream! Shut up! Scum! Disgusting! Smash! Don't move! Go to hell! How's this? Disappear! Die! Got you! Balba! Did I kill ya? Too easy! What?! Damn it! Bastard! How? You swine! Soulcalibur III I'll strangle the life out of you... Stop moving around! It's irritating! You pretentious fool! You will fear me... I'll crush you! This may be worthwhile... after all. You deserve to die! Lemme smack you around some. Don't scream, cur! Don't expect a quick... death. Time to slaughter! I will crush the life out of you! I will destroy all! You disgusting filth! It's time you... die! Out of my sight, you scum! Shut up... and die already! You wanna die that badly?! Disappear... and never come back! Don't you move... Go ahead and squirm! Rain of blood... shall rain down today! You filth! Outta my sight! You thought you could live through this? A pathetic fool, after all. Damn... I forgot to take its soul. Hm? I guess that was too much. Even in droves, they're still too weak. You and your stupid tricks... maggot! You put up quite a fight... maggot! Hey... at least put up a fight. Want me to tear you apart? You've got some guts... for a fool. I'm gonna squeeze the life out of you. Grrr... what a joke. Cry out in pain! I wanna hear you scream! I'll shred you to pieces. I have no need for worthless souls! Hell awaits... peon! Get out of my sight! Don't make me laugh! Dead yet? Filthy maggots! Your soul... is mine! What? Dead already? How ridiculous! I'll grind you into the ground! Is that the best you can do? You stupid fools! Your soul... is mine, worm. So, are you ready to die? Stop screaming! It's irritating! Disappear... and never come back! Time to perish! Disintegrate! It won't work! Scream for me! Stay down! I'll wrench you apart! Gorah! Suffer! Scream! Balba! How's... this? Take... this! Is that it? Pathetic. What?! Dammit! Damn you! What is this?! Soulcalibur IV I will crush the life out of you! This might be worthwhile. Let me hear you scream! Go to hell! Dead yet? Filthy maggots! Your soul is mine! Did you just do something? Stay down! Time to perish! Now, disappear! You maggot! Time to die! Balba! Suffer! Disappear! You fool! Scream for me! That do it?! Give it up! Annoying! Take this! Shut up! Disgusting! Disintegrate! Enough of this! Cry! Scream! Disgusting! Splatter! Did you just do something? Let me hear you scream! Don't scream you cur! What?! Damn you! Pathetic! Time to slaughter! Even in droves, they're still too weak! I will destroy you all! Is that the best you can do? You stupid fools! Shut up, you maggot! Such beautiful screams! Shut up and give them to me! You're just pathetic and weak! So this is the power of Soul Edge! No, it's not enough for me, I need more! Give me more, I want more! Soulcalibur V Silence, you maggot! I'm going to kill... all of you! Power... I can feel it! Why would I remember a little worm like you? - spoken after defeating Maxi. Who are you? Answer me! - spoken when engaging in battle against Maxi. Only I am Astaroth! - spoken after defeating another Astaroth. Buzz off! Your soul belongs to me! Break apart! Stay down! Scream for me! Disappear! Die! Shut up! You bore me. Feed me... your soul! Worthless! Balba! I'll tell you what! What?! - spoken when hit by a tremor. Damn you, maggot! Take this! I'll cut you to shreds!! - during Critical Edge. Impossible! You think you've won?! - spoken when ring out Why?! I'll twist you apart! Go... to hell! Squirm you filthy maggot! You Scum! - Spoken when ringed out. No! Damn scum! - Spoken when losing a battle, when time runs out. Trivia Astaroth's appearance in Soulcalibur V resembles Necrid, a character that appeared in Soulcalibur II. Also the fact his body was animated and is powered by electricity is reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster. Astaroth is the first character in the Soul Calibur series to be succeeded by a separate, identical character, in Soul Calibur V. The second is Nightmare and the third is Yoshimitsu. Astaroth is sometimes referred to as the "Black Giant" and "A Soldier of the Heretics". Astaroth appears in Namco's Pac-Man Fever. The head equipment "Leather Mask Comb" in Soulcalibur IV is highly similar to, if not the same as, the headpiece used in Astaroth's 2P outfit in Soulcalibur. Most of Astaroth's weapons were originally Rock's. (Not storyline-wise.) Astaroth is the youngest character in the the Soul series, being he's only seven years old; ironically, he's also one of the tallest. In Soulcalibur V many new Astaroths are being made so they remain the youngest characters and they're significantly taller than the original Astaroth. The Palgaea and Kunpaetku Shrines have been featured as Astaroth's only stages throughout the series. The Palgaea cult is located in the Persian Desert, as evidenced by the story mode map and accompanying text in Soul Calibur III. The music that plays in Astaroth's SCIV ending is an homage to the music of the Godzilla series of B-movies. In Chronicles of the Sword, the player can use Astaroth's weapons and moveset as a level 30 Barbarian, along with Nightmare. The Japanese seiyuu of Astaroth, Banjō Ginga has also voiced other videogame characters such as Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid, Major Zero in Snake Eater, Liquid Ocelot in Guns of the Patriots and AWACS Eagle Eye in Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, the first title ever released by Namco as Namco Bandai. Astaroth's primary costume from Soulcalibur II was also used as his alternate costume in Soulcalibur IV. Astaroth's Poseidon Tide Rush was used in Monty Oum's fan-made series Dead Fantasy by Ninja Gaiden character Rachel in the second episode. In Soulcalibur II, Astaroth stands at 6' 4", while in Soulcalibur IV, he stands at 6' 8". In Soulcalibur V, his newly created body even stands at 7' 2". Astaroth's mask from his alternate Soulcalibur II costume is available as a DLC in Soulcalibur IV under the name "Devil's Mask". It appears again in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. Craig Marduk from the Tekken series can be customized to look like him, aside from white eyes and "Executioner's Belt". Astaroth's overall design and backstory is similar to that of Frankenstein's monster. Being that he's a resurrected corpse and some of his alternate costumes having stitch marks on his body and even volts similar to those found in the Frankenstein monster's neck. In addition to that, his main look in Soulcalibur V is green. Within the Schwartzstrom group, Astaroth is referred to as "Sinister Sable".1 Despite his massive weight, Astaroth is no more resistant to knockback and grappling attacks than anyone else. In his second costume in Soulcalibur V, Astaroth's voice changes slightly to fit the mechanical theme. Also, the costume may have been inspired by Ashlotte's design, as she too was created to be a mechanical creature...although he seems to resemble a Necron warrior from the tabletop war game "Warhammer 40,000". Strangely, in SoulCalibur V's Creation Mode, if one equips any type of head item onto Astaroth that hides his entire head (such as the Werewolf head), the exposed heart on his chest disappears. Because of Astaroth's size, created characters with "Soul of Astaroth" often deal damage without connecting with the opponent. This is most noticeable if the created character is short, and when the created character throws. He is similar to Skurd from Blades of Fury. They both are very tall, very muscular, evil executioners with giant axes and spikes on thier clothing. Also, one of Blades of Fury's stages is almost identical to Astaroth's Soulcalibur II stage. Astaroth seems to have some violence on his costumes most of the time for example his third costume in Soul Calibur II seems to have lines of blood on him Etymology In demonology, Astaroth is the Crowned Prince of Hell. Relationships Creation of Kunpaetku. Was the servant of Nightmare in Soulcalibur and again in Soulcalibur IV. Defeated Ivy in Soulcalibur (non-canon.) Nemesis of Maxi, by whom he was killed in Soulcalibur and defeated by in Soulcalibur IV. Defeated Rock in Soulcalibur III, who he is modeled after and almost killed him before the events of Soulcalibur IV. Was convinced by Tira to become Soul Edge's servant again in Soulcalibur IV. Ashlotte, who was sent by the Cult, was after him in Soulcalibur IV. According to the new Astaroth's bio in Soulcalibur V, she successfully retrieved the original's "core," allowing for the new Astaroth to be formed. Faced the Jedi Grand Master Yoda in his Soulcalibur IV intro (non-canon Xbox 360 only, but can be downloaded or unlocked in PS3) Recreated by Kunpaetku in Soulcalibur V. A lone Astaroth was killed by Patroklos in a forest. Soulcalibur Manga Comic In Soulcalibur Manga Comic, Volume 1 (Act.3), Astaroth appears during Nightmare's ritual. In Soulcalibur Manga Comic, Volume 2 (Act.7), Astaroth and armies of Lizardmen attack on Maxi's pirate comrades. When Astaroth finds the leader of the crew is Kyam, Astaroth attacks him violently. In Soulcalibur Manga Comic, Volume 5 (Act.29), Astaroth was defeated by both Maxi's ultimate form and slain by Hwang. Series' Appearances Soulcalibur Soulcalibur II Soulcalibur III Soulcalibur Legends (as Astaroth Alpha) Soulcalibur IV Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny Soulcalibur V Category:Characters Category:Males